Mental illness or commonly known as mental health disorders refers to various conditions that affect a person’s feelings, thoughts, moods and behavior. This condition can occur only for a certain period of time or for a long time.
Mental illness not only results in difficulties arising from the symptoms of illness but also losses through societal reactions. In fact, some people with mental illness will accept common prejudices about mental illness, self-stigma, and loss of confidence. The impact of suffering on people with mental illness is even greater when the gap between the capacity of mental health services and the people who need them is high. This impact is not only experienced by the person himself, but also experienced by the family, community, and state.
Being Mentally Healthy is Our Need
Mental health is related to several things, including: inner calm, adaptability, and active participation in the environment. On the other hand, several factors can trigger mental disorders, such as experiencing certain diseases to stress due to various traumatic events such as, losing our loved ones. Through this experience, the human immune system can also be weakened.
Being isolated for a long time is also at risk of mental disorders. One example is the situation of the COVID-19 pandemic in the early days of Large-Scale Social Restrictions (PSBB). At that time, we are encouraged to stay indoors. Slowly, humans are increasingly vulnerable to feeling lonely because of various restrictions to interact and do activities outside that intersect with other humans. This also adversely affects the physical and mental quality of a person.
Seeing that there are various situations beyond human control, mental health becomes an important need. As simple as humans trying to meet food needs every day, mental health also gets a similar portion to meet in life. Mental health needs to be maintained and strived so that humans are able to remain optimally empowered in living life. In addition, mental health also supports humans to be more flexible and resilient when facing problems or challenges that come their way.
Being Here and Now
In life, whatever has happened in the past, just put it in that time. Meanwhile, whatever happens in the future we cannot predict. When realizing these two conditions, try to ask yourself again, “have you been able to realize and enjoy the current conditions and here?”
Fritz Perls, a German psychologist, introduced the concept of here and now or we call it “here – now”. This concept explains the importance of man to feel his existence in the here and now. People who try to enjoy the present moment without interference with grudges in the past, or worries about the future.
The past is one thing that we cannot change, but we can manage so that our lives can optimally live a life “here and now“. So it is with the future. We need to plan and anticipate the future, but not to worry about it fully until it consumes all the focus and awareness we have. Because in fact, the present moment – here is something really real we are living.
The next challenge is, have we been able to interpret the present life as something fun and meaningful? Reflections to be able to interpret life today are strengthened by the opinion of Martin Seligman, an expert in positive psychology from the United States. Seligman said that there needs to be a good understanding of how humans perceive the meaning of a pleasant life and a meaningful life or commonly called pleasure and gratification.
The Enjoyment and Happiness of Life Now, Now
Pleasure talks about the enjoyment of basic feelings and a strong sensory component. While gratification, talks about happiness or enjoyment of life through activities that we like. Gratification is not limited to basic feelings, but also involves the ability of human thinking and interpretation in perceiving what is happening.
In this era, we seem to be very dependent on the various conveniences and pleasures offered. As a result, our lives are always filled with thinking “What other entertainment can I enjoy?”, “What if I don’t have a pleasant life?“.
Things like this sometimes make us stutter in cultivating the potential that exists in us. We focus too much on creating a positive emotional state and minimizing negative emotions within us. The search for this positive emotional state is often outside oneself, until you forget to look at what is currently there.
Therefore, it is time for us to focus on the present and present life. By focusing on the present, we are invited to review the good things that have been achieved. Everything that happened in the past is enough for us to make as a reference for learning in the present or future. As for what will happen in the future, we are satisfied with what we can work on and resign ourselves to believing that it will happen.
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Being mentally healthy is an important need. Let’s take care of our mental health by slowly getting used to it and being trained to realize and enjoy every second of life right now, right now. Believing that humans have control over their lives now. By allowing yourself to be free from the bondage of the past, as well as clearing the uncertain imagination of the future.